President Cyril Ramaphosa will tomorrow, Saturday, 19 May 2018, address the Volvo Group Southern Africa’s Youth Employment Initiative event to be held at its assembly plant in Durban, KwaZulu-Natal.

Volvo’s initiative is in line with the Youth Employment Service (YES) led by President Ramaphosa, that aims to see more than one million young South Africans being offered paid work experience over the next three years, as part of placing the needs of and opportunities for young people at the centre of inclusive economic growth.

The YES initiative takes the form of a partnership between government, business, labour and civil society and has three channels through which employment opportunities can occur:

• Corporate work experiences: businesses that participate in the programme create one-year paid positions for youth aged between 18 and 35, in addition to these organisations’ current employment numbers, YES is additive; 
• SMME host placements: businesses that do not have the capacity to place more people in their organisations, have the option of sponsoring the salary for a one-year placement in small and medium enterprises (in year one for 7 to 10 months); and 
• SMME development: young people are empowered to start and grow their own businesses, with support from YES in the form of training, seed funding and value-chain integration.

Volvo Group Southern Africa plans to invest an added over R20 million during 2018 on apprenticeship training, automotive industry learnerships, disabled person learnerships, as well as internships. It has already invested more than R86 million since 2015.
 
The plant’s positioning in the Durban’s south industrial basin is part of a major industrial expansion as it forms a part of other automotive companies who have invested in this area and boosts the economy of the province and by extension of the country.
 
Volvo will continue their involvement in the Star for Life programme and plans to invest over R7.8 million in this non-profit organisation’s initiative that provides young people in Southern Africa with essential life skills, sport training and health education.    
 
The event tomorrow will be attended by matric and TVET students.
 
Media details 
Date: Saturday, 19 May 2018          
Time: 14h00 to 16h30          
Venue: Volvo Assembly Plant, 60 Palmgate Crescent, Umbogintwini, Amanzimtoti, KZN
 
RSVP: Tanje Wandrag – 0834529563 / tanje@stargazerpr.com  or Terrence Manase – 082 338 6707

Media enquiries: 
Khusela Diko
Cell: 072 854 5707